Can Oral Microbes Cause Dementia?

The gut microbiota is enjoying a renaissance. Everywhere you look, some kind of health issue is being traced back to gut microbes. Fortunately, gut microbiotas have been found to be largely beneficial unless — like a jungle with too many tigers — they get ecologically unbalanced. This tiny ecosystem starts with oral microbes that can influence the entire digestive tract. And these oral microbes, it turns out, have an outsize influence on brain health as well.

The impact of the gut on health isn’t new. Hippocrates proclaimed that all disease starts in the gut some 2500 years ago before anyone knew about bacteria. Now we know that microbes liberally carpet the entire length of the digestive system. The biggest batch is in the colon, where some three pounds of bacteria enjoy a thriving community. But they exist throughout the entire gut, from mouth to anus. And there is a surprising impact on the brain from oral microbes, which are, after all, sharing space in your head.

Oral microbes can migrate into your colon and they can get into your bloodstream if you brush too vigorously. One way to keep them from causing harm is to take a prebiotic, such as Clarity Prebiotic Blend, which will feed your good microbes and discourage dangerous microbes at the same time. Dementia and other brain diseases have many causes, but you help by making sure your microbes are healthy and balanced, all the way from the mouth on down.